Both Tana and Feiden eventually passed out in the medical room. Both of them were treated and allowed to sleep and recuperate.

Knights recovered best while sleeping, as did all humans. But the effects for them were heavily exaggerated. With some potent recovery drugs in their system, their wounds healed at an almost visible rate. When I zoomed in with my eyes, I could actually see their flesh churn within the wounds, blood clotting and scabbing, and patches of flesh spontaneously growing. It was almost disturbing, seeing the sped up healing process completely open to air.

It was a freakish healing ability that I couldn't help but envy every time I saw it. Like how warlocks and summoners could regenerate their energy within a day, so too could knights. But unlike the other Magi, their wounds also healed with their Vigor. They would be battle-ready in less than 24 hours.

I rolled my eyes when the doctor told us that. Afterward, Vetsmon headed out for his final battle.

We went to watch it even though it was relatively uneventful. The opponent was the second knight on Ponteck’s squad, someone going by the name Usurn. He couldn’t really handle Vetsmon’s overwhelming strength or defense; his attacks were rebuffed gracefully and his parries were smashed aside.

Not to mention that, although Vetsmon was slow compared to Feiden, he was still fast. He’d been training against Feiden a lot, so at the very least he could handle those who were faster than him.

That battle ended sooner rather than later. Umara stepped up a few matches after that to finish her last match.

She got another hour of rest before heading up. Her opponent was a lesser ranked warlock who was also on Ponteck’s squad. That girl had a perfect affinity for the water element and a partial affinity for the fire element. Apparently she was working to become a healer.

And although she was good, she couldn’t really compare to Umara. Unlike me who had only just found out before, all warlocks knew that the formations behind their elemental spells could be disrupted. So no matter if it was a pressurized ball of water or a huge river, Umara was able to either destroy the spell before it reached her or counter it with her versatile air magic.

Over the weeks before the tournament, we had been discussing ways for her to counteract each of the elements with her air magic. The fire element was most discussed due to their compatible properties, which was why Umara could so easily beat a fire warlock.

But we had also discussed the water and earth elements. The earth element was both difficult and simple to handle. If Umara could suppress and corner an earth warlock, then she could win pretty easily. They would be forced on the defensive. On the other hand, if they knew how to utilize their strengths enough to counter her, then she would have a much harder time.

As for the water element, that was a bit easier. Pressurized gasses could be used to disrupt spells, and strong winds could handle area spells. Of course, water warlocks had the mass advantage. But Umara also had mobility.

If you can’t beat it, avoid it. That’s the stance she took with her battle and before long, she had cornered her opponent. After that it was only a matter of time before she came out with the win.

And when the last blow was delivered, she was declared the winner.

With that, we were done for the day.

Well, Feiden technically had his battle against Vetsmon. But since he wasn’t even conscious, it was a loss by default, and Vetsmon moved on for his final battle.

And of course, all of my opponents forfeited, allowing me to do the same.

When all was said and done it was later in the day. Umara and I stayed in the medical room with Vetsmon and were there when Tana and Feiden woke up.

Feiden was first, and we greeted him as soon as he sat up in his bed.

“Hey dude. How’re you feeling?”

“Sore. Everywhere. How’s Tana?”

“She’s fine.”

“Mm. Good. Honestly, I didn’t even know she could do all that.”

He let out a strained breath, recalling the battle’s events.

I chuckled.

“Hell yeah, she made you work for that win. All she needs is to get out of her own way. She’s talented as hell, she’s going to be just fine.”

“Agreed. If she wins her battle tomorrow, she’ll be getting fourth place. That’s an amazing placement.”

“Mm. And speak of the devil.”

I suddenly looked over, sensing Tana wake.

She groaned softly as her eyes fluttered open. Vetsmon sat on her bedside, brushing a few blonde strands of hair out of her face.

“Ugh… Vetsmon?”

“Hey. How are you feeling?”

“I… tired, I guess…”

She groaned while pushing herself to sit up, but it proved to be a mistake. She flopped back down onto the bed, wheezing from exertion. She was obviously healing from more than Feiden.

“Damn. It’s like I don’t even work out.”

“Just relax. We’re in the medical ward. Your last battle is tomorrow so you have plenty of time.”

“Right… I don’t know if I even care anymore though.”

She let out a long breath before slumping to the side, leaning against Vetsmon’s body.

My eyes widened, as did Vetsmon’s. I started flailing my arms right after and caught Vetsmon’s attention.

He gave me a strange look as I pointed at Tana and then ran over to Feiden’s bedside, scooting in close before wrapping my arm around his shoulder.

Feiden tried scooting away, but Vetsmon got the hint and did as I demonstrated.

His arm lifted and went around Tana, and she adjusted naturally, laying against his chest.

I leaped up and started bouncing and flailing around in silent excitement.

Was I mistaken and Tana wasn’t nearly as dense as I thought she was? Did Vetsmon manage to finally woo her?!

I continued dancing around, shaking Umara a bit, until Tana’s head lifted. That’s when I suddenly stopped and smiled at her.

“Hey, sleepy head. That was a hell of a show you put on.”

“It hurts like hell. My body felt like it was going to explode.”

“But it was fucking worth it! I mean, look at what you did to my boy here!”

I shook Feiden, eliciting a grunt from him and getting a small smile from Tana.

“He actually had to be carried off! That arena had his blood painted all over it! And who did that?”

“...I did.”

“Sorry, who did that?!”

“I did that.”

“Fuck yeah you did that! And to think you wanted to forfeit. Like I said earlier, I ain’t got no bitches on my squad! Us five right here are the baddest motherfuckers in the Magisterium! Who can compete with this?!”

I motioned around, everyone smiling a bit in pride.

And it was true. Ponteck wasn’t even the top Elite anymore. Myself, Umara, Vetsmon, and Feiden all occupied 4 of the top 5 ranks, while Tana had recently crossed into the top 10.

We were simply better. Our relationships were also fantastic. Two couples and Feiden who had a girlfriend resulted in just about the best group relationship one could ask for.

The best strength, the best chemistry, and plenty of talent left to unearth.

Nobody could compare.

I slung my arm around Feiden and leaned back into the headrest, my piece having been said.

Umara chimed in at that moment.

“Now we just need to worry about Ponteck.”

“Vetsmon will win.”

“...I don’t have your confidence.”

The big man chucked from across the room, making me roll my eyes.

“Like I said to Tana, you won’t win with that attitude. You need to go in expecting to win. It won’t be easy, but you will.”

“I can’t expect something so unlikely though. Ponteck is… better. He’s strong, fast, and his technique sits at a higher level than mine. I hear he’s close to achieving Projection.”

“That’s the Vigor blade release thing?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, he doesn’t have it yet, so it doesn’t matter.”

“It does. His Aura is assuredly better than mine, not to mention everything else. My chances of actually winning are slim to none, no matter what I do.”

“You’re being too pessimistic, friend.”

“I’m being realistic, friend.”

Our voices fell into a few moments of silence. Vetsmon and I stared at each other, our visions clearly conflicting.

I was realistic too, and I knew that Vetsmon had a really low chance of beating Ponteck. I had fought against a Ponteck clone more times than I’d like to remember, and he was definitely a level higher than Vetsmon.

The fact that he was close to what Shadowbane had only just accomplished meant he was incredibly talented, more than any other knight I’d met, and definitely more so than Vetsmon if the rumors were true. Granted, he was also on his way to Authority 7, but the point remained. He was significantly better than most of his peers.

What that meant for his Aura as well meant that Vetsmon likely wouldn’t have a chance.

However, like with Tana, I didn’t believe going in with such a pessimistic attitude was any good.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

It was only counterproductive. You could take your opponent seriously while still having confidence. Just because you acknowledged them didn’t mean you couldn’t win. And telling yourself that you would win was a good way to keep you psyched for the battle. Putting yourself down only hurt you.

Mentality affected performance. That was something I discovered during my time on Earth playing football. I had only learned that lesson when we won our first championship, something that should’ve been impossible, yet we had accomplished anyway.

This was a competition just like that. It was better to fight knowing you would give everything, fighting to snatch that trophy, rather than believing otherwise and holding back.

Which led me to my only rebuttal.

I shrugged.

“Fine then. Just forfeit.”

“What?”

“You heard me. You’re about to face another knight that only you and Feiden can stand shoulder to shoulder with. You’re about to fight for the championship. So if you don’t believe you’re going to win, then why fight? If the result is already set in stone, then don’t bother.”

“I can still fight, even if I’m not expecting to win. I can test myself. There are still several benefits to be had from the battle.”

“What a sorry excuse. A sorry purpose, actually. Why don't you just come out and say you’re a pussy?”

“...”

He went silent, frowning while leaning forward.

I almost wanted to chuckle, but I maintained my poker face for the sake of seriousness.

“I’m sorry. I don’t understand. In what fucking universe am I the pussy?”

“The one where you’re scared shitless by the thought of losing honestly to Ponteck. I can see it in you; there was a point in my life when I would make up the same bullshit. You’re scared, because if you entered that arena expecting to win, giving everything you had to do so, and still lost, you’d be devastated. It would be humiliating, because all of your friends and family, both here and back at the Holy See, would see it and realize you weren’t the best. So you make up some sorry fucking excuse to somehow preemptively spare yourself from that.”

“Please, I don’t fear anybody, especially not some Ponteck. But that doesn’t mean I can’t acknowledge that he’s better, and that in a fight, I might not win.”

“Again with the excuses.”

“How fucking so?!”

“Because who’s fault is it that you’re not better?!”

I finally sat up as well, waving to him.

“I don’t know what kind of training Ponteck has, but you were trained at the Holy See! Your father is the head of the Verga Family! A background doesn’t get much better than that, my friend! So whose fault is it?! Why aren’t you capable of beating him?!”

“...”

He was silent, but I could practically see his gaze turn red. A singular, overwhelming emotion flared up within him.

And then, he stood up, taking jerky but powerful steps toward me.

I stood up as well, taking a few steps forward before we were chest to chest. Or something like that. He was just so much taller.

And then, his hand shot out. I felt it coming well in advance but I just stood there anyway, letting his hand go around my collar.

It didn’t clamp down, but my powerlessness was obvious.

“I could kill you in a squeeze, friend.”

“At least now you’re confident in something. But is it worth being so confident in something so damn easy?”

“Does it matter to you, who would be too dead to care?”

“Yeah.”

“You're a fucking liar.”

“No, I just want my friend to be fucking better. I suddenly have a feeling that you haven't been trying nearly as hard as I thought you have. Maybe you’ve just been pretending. Honestly, I don’t care. So long as you man the fuck up and start giving a damn. Because when I see fuckers like you pissing away all your talent with a shit attitude, I get a little pissed off myself! So go ahead and just try to fucking kill me! You don’t have the fucking balls!”

“...”

He was silent as I smiled in his face. Then again, my teeth were gritted. He started clamping down on my collar pretty hard.

I heard it first, then felt it.

The coat gave. My collarbone crumpled inward.

His brow went up, and his hand loosened as the snap sounded, letting me go and stepping backward. His Aura flared with confusion, then anxiety, as he backed away.

I suddenly felt what had made him let go: a sharp lance of wind had sliced his hand open.

Feiden appeared beside me, still limping, and Umara caught me from behind, her staff held at the ready.

I took a knee, my arm hanging limply beside me and in excruciating pain. Thankfully, my pain tolerance was well adapted due to recent events.

That’s when the door flew open, and the Puppet Master walked in and shot a look at Vetsmon.

“You, get the hell out. I’ll find you later for a talk.”

“...”

Vetsmon didn’t even get a chance to respond before he was summarily thrown through the doorway with a gust of wind.

Then, Vizen, the Puppet Master’s standby medic, walked in.

“Heal his bone. Hopefully this won’t affect you for the upcoming battles.”

“I’ve dealt with worse.”

“Come sit.”

Vizen brought me over to a chair, which I sat in while he held my arm.

A large spell was cast that started to affect the bone.

“This may hurt.”

“Try me.”

I grimaced as the bone crackled back into place.

I slammed my fist against the wall, but generally bore with it as everything returned to its place. Once everything stopped moving, I let out a breath of relief.

The spell would continue for a few more minutes, but the worst of it was over. I turned to Umara and smiled.

“Thanks for saving me, dear.”

“Mm. I just didn’t expect that he’d actually hurt you.”

“Guess he forgot just how weak I was.”

“Well, a knight who harms his own squad has no right to be on it.”

The Puppet Master suddenly spoke.

“I was standing outside, wondering what was going on with all the shouting. It seemed like you guys were arguing. Like she said though, I didn’t think he’d actually hurt you. Seems he can’t control his temper, like some sort of massive child. So it seems like he needs to be punished like a child.”

“Well, if I may.”

“You may not. The very man who’s supposed to protect you has harmed you. To not even speak of punishment, he doesn’t deserve to be on your squad after that.”

He spoke with an unarguable conviction.

I just sighed.

“Second chances, Puppet Master. We want him to learn from this, which he can’t do if he’s kicked. We still have another trip left. I’ll need my shield. Also, don’t tell his father.”

“Are you kidding me? I was going to make the call as soon as I left. Behavior like this is an embarrassment to his Family. If you want him to learn, then we should allow his family to re-teach him just what it means to be a Verga Knight.”

“Agreed.”

Umara chimed, my head turning toward her.

I could tell how pissed she was, so her next words weren’t surprising.

“You’re the one person we need to protect and he just threatened to kill you before almost snapping your neck like a twig. I didn’t think he could throw a tantrum like that, and it was clear that it was an accident. But his actions and words are a stain on the honor of the Verga family, like the Puppet Master said. He doesn’t deserve anything less than the punishment he would receive from his family.”

“But even if I agree with you, there’s still the issue of the next excursion. Who’s going to be our shield?”

“...”

Umara went silent.

It was the end of the year and we only had one more trip left. But if it followed the trend set by previous trips, this would be the most dangerous one.

We couldn’t just pull a knight from somewhere else; all the other squads were already set in stone. Anybody else who was free was probably at the bottom of the Elite Rankings. They would be more of a hindrance than a help.

If Vetsmon left, we’d be screwed for the next trip. I’d just prefer not to go at that point.

I shrugged.

“Listen, we can save it for later. For now, we need the guy. Let him serve his purpose for the last month and then grill him all you like.”

“...You’re being awfully lenient to a man who just threatened your life.”

The Puppet Master looked at me with scrutinizing eyes, making me smile.

“What can I say? I’m just such a generous and kind person.”

“I don’t know about that, but you at least have a point. I couldn’t send you out without him, and you need to go on the last trip… I suppose he needs to stay. But I can guarantee that as soon as the trip is done, you won’t see him again for a very long time. His parents will still be notified.”

“So long as I get my shield.”

I shrugged. The Puppet Master and Umara had good points, but I wouldn’t put my life at risk just because they wanted to teach him a lesson.

At that moment, Vizen’s spell finished. I shifted my arm around a bit, feeling piercing pains. But otherwise, it was operational.

“Your arm will take some time to heal the small stuff and properly seal the bone. Otherwise, it’ll work as intended so long as you don’t put it under heavy strain.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“To take care of it, I hope. Well, I’ll just heal you again if necessary.”

He smiled before going over to Feiden and Tana, checking their conditions and ushering Feiden back to bed.

Once all that was done, the two instructors prepared to leave, and the Puppet Master turned around at the door for a last word.

“I’ll take care of Vetsmon. I can already tell you he won’t be winning tomorrow. We’ll see if I allow him to even compete. Regardless, you need to focus on yourself, John. After tomorrow, you’ll be battling the best warlocks and knights the Magisterium has to offer. Heal up and prepare.”

“Already on it.”

I spoke while taking out a cigar, lighting it and letting out some puffs of smoke.

After that, given it was already evening, Umara and I left, Feiden and Tana were released from the medical ward, and everyone went back to their residences.

We went back to the hotel where we ordered dinner. We ate in a strange silence before retiring for the final hours of the night.

Umara finally broke the silence as we finished washing up.

“You know, you didn’t have to push so far. I know you were trying to get him motivated, but it devolved to a point it didn’t need to.”

“Actually, I’m thinking I did a pretty good job. I managed to get Vetsmon of all people riled up. Didn’t think it was possible.”

“But was that necessary? Or did you do it just to do it? Because now your friend may not like you anymore. Losing a friend like that doesn’t seem like the right thing to do just because he didn’t want to be as optimistic as you.”

“It wasn’t about being optimistic.”

I let out a breath of smoke, lounging back onto my couch.

“It’s a mindset issue. I made my point when talking to him, and it still stands. He’s scared of losing. And more importantly, he’s scared of shooting for an unlikely goal. And because he’s scared, he doesn’t try. Now I know that he probably hasn’t been giving his full effort at all this year. The guy is so talented that everything just comes to him, which makes him complacent, as most talented people become at some point.”

“...I get that. But why did you have to do it like that? It would’ve been better to do it literally any other way. At least a way that doesn’t try to end your friendship and leave you hurt.”

“I don’t know. It just happened that way and I rolled with it. I don’t particularly care though. If he hadn’t hurt me it wouldn’t have been such a big deal. And it was an accident anyway, so I don’t really care. I mean, the healing magic is so good. What’s one broken bone?”

I shrugged. With this world’s healing, there was little I had to worry about so long as it didn’t instantly kill me. So who cared about a little broken collarbone? In mere minutes it was already put back together.

Umara sighed.

“I still think it could’ve been handled better. Besides, I don’t think it was that big of an issue.”

“It was, though.”

“How? He was doing just fine and getting stronger every day. We all are. And that would’ve continued without you fracturing our squad like this. So what was the point?”

“The point is complacency.”

I looked her dead in the eye.

“If he gets complacent, then he’s probably going to die. Umara, I’ve gotten much stronger since I’ve started down this road and yet every time I go out to battle like we have been, I feel like I might die. Take our battle with the Royal. If I hadn’t pulled out that machine gun, we might’ve been fucked. And the only reason I was able to do so was because I had trained my ass off for weeks. Every single day it felt like my head was going to explode out of anxiety and paranoia. So I kept training, and I was just barely able to get that weapon during the battle. So if I hadn’t trained that hard, what would that have meant for us?”

“...”

She went silent. The answer was pretty clear.

We may have died if I was any slower. That was too close for comfort, and something I didn't want to ever happen again.

I sighed.

“I just don’t want any of us to die, now or in the future, but I can only help myself. And here I am, feeling all of this urgency, while the talented Vetsmon just sits back on his ass and waits for his strength to come to him. One part of me gets pissed seeing that, while the other part gets scared because if he keeps that up, somewhere down the line he’s going to pay the price for it. I don’t want that for my friend, so yeah, I’m going to press the issue. Maybe it’ll be the wake up call he needs.”

“...”

Umara didn’t respond, lingering for a moment before walking over and sitting beside me.

“Is this that tough love you spoke of before?”

“Mhm.”

“Hm. So, how do I know if I’m getting complacent? I come from the same talent and background. Maybe I’m not giving my full effort either.”

“Just know that where you’re at isn’t enough. You should be shooting for higher goals, things much greater than the Magisterium. Do that and I think you’ll be fine. And if I see you getting lazy, you know I’ll call you out on it.”

“Mm, good. And I’ll try to help you as much as I can. I know you’ve got more than enough pushing you. I’ll try to ease the burden.”

“I appreciate it, my sweet.”

I gave her a peck on the nose before we both headed to bed for the night.